Sibling Rivalry
by Miss Takin
Summary: Siblings will always fight, but this rivalry's about to get a little more personal. 02
1. 1: Prologue

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Title: Sibling Rivalry

Author: Miss Takin

Chapter: 1; Prologue

Summary: Siblings will always fight, but this rivalry's about to get a little more personal.

A/N: I'm doing this for fun. The idea was spurred on by a discussion in the thread Daikari vs. Takari in the forum Digimon 02: The Clash of Love, and I really have no idea where it's going to go right now but I loved the idea so much I just had to run with it. Funnily enough, it has nothing to do with Daikari or Takari, as you will soon see. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't.

* * *

At this point in her life, Hikari knew a few things. 

She knew her brother was gay. She had suspected this for a while, ever since the rejections started. Being the star of the soccer team all the way through junior high, Taichi found that a lot of girls were able to gather up the courage to ask him out, but he had never said yes to any one of them. It happened so often that rejecting people became sort of a talent, and he could do it without even thinking. Of course, he never had to think about going out with anyone of these girls, because he had never really been interested in the female half of the human race. However, it wasn't until later that he had realized that it wasn't a lack of interest at all, it was just that the interest was somehow "misguided."

This was the word Taichi had first used. Hikari knew that he was a bit disgusted with himself in the beginning, having never known gay men to be anything more than the stereotypes he saw on TV, which were a less-than-desirable future for the athlete to look forward to. When he finally admitted to her, the first person he ever told, it was in a bit of a rage that he had been accustomed to experiencing as he suppressed his inner homosexual.

But now, Hikari knew that Taichi was happy. He was quite publicly a gay man, but still the same Taichi and not the drama queen that he had almost expected himself to become. He looked back on his days of rejections as a bit of a joke now, though at the time he had thought that there was definitely something wrong with him.

Another thing that Hikari knew was that Ishida Yamato was Taichi's best friend. Yamato was the quiet musician type, though very friendly when he got talking. Taichi and Yamato were almost always seen together, and so most assumed that they were "together." Hikari did not assume this.

Hikari knew that Taichi and Yamato were not together, and she knew this for the sole reason that she lived with Taichi. Hikari had known her whole life that Taichi had a knack for complaining, and she knew that his favorite thing to complain about lately was Yamato dodging him around every corner. He mostly did this when he was alone with Hikari, because he still found talking about his attraction to boys with their parents very awkward, and the feeling was mutual. Hikari knew that when their mother's eyes had grown to the size of saucepans upon learning his orientation, Taichi had sworn to himself that he would try not to bring up the subject anytime in the near future. Hikari had shown only a hint of surprise when he finally admitted to his sexuality, and thus Taichi felt quite comfortable talking to her openly about it.

So, Taichi had felt the need to complain to Hikari of all people about his failure to "get with Yamato." Hikari knew that Taichi was ridiculously attracted to Yamato, as he often used such phrases as "damn fine," "hot as hell," and "do-able" to describe him. Hikari had never seen Taichi so intoxicated with one person before, and she sometimes indulged in hearing Taichi talk about him as if he were a sex god.

However, there was one thing Hikari didn't know.

She was about to fall entirely, completely, unquestionably head-over-heels in love with Ishida Yamato.


	2. 2: Just A Physical Attraction

_**Title:** Sibling Rivalry_

_**Author:** Miss Takin_

_**Chapter:** 2; Just A Physical Attraction_

_**Summary:** Siblings will always fight, but this rivalry's about to get a little more personal._

_**A/N:** Yay for chapter two! I'm personally getting really excited about this story. It's turning out to be lots of fun._

_I know this chapter came pretty fast after the last one, but please don't expect them all to come that fast. I'm pretty busy._

_**Disclaimer:** Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't._

* * *

It happened on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Actually, it wasn't really all that beautiful. There were gray clouds slowly filling the sky as the day wore on, and it looked like there was a bit of rain on its way. Hikari watched the blue sky disappear through the kitchen window as she sat doing homework. She was still holding the pen in her hand, but the writing had long since been forgotten as she drifted off into her daydreams. She was soon to be snapped out of her trance, as her noisy brother threw open the front door and came into the house shouting curses at the weather. 

"Damn clouds! Why can't they just stay at home instead of making all of us unhappy?"

Taichi tromped through the kitchen, with an angry "hello" to his sister before going into their bedroom. Yamato, who Hikari hadn't even noticed, stopped and smiled at her.

"Hi," she said, as if apologizing for her brother.

Yamato sat himself across from her at the kitchen table and looked out the window.

"Kind of an ugly day it's turning out to be, isn't it?" he said, staring at the gray sky as if lost in his own thoughts.

Hikari hummed a reply and looked back down at the homework, which she decided wasn't nearly as interesting as Yamato's small talk and could be ignored for the time being.

"I think we're supposed to get some sun later on in the week though. That'll be good."

He looked at her and cracked a half-smile that Hikari recognized from Taichi's smile as the "biggest turn-on ever" smile. She supposed it _was_ quite an entrancing smile, and in fact she became so entranced by it that her next answer was barely coherent.

"Huh?"

Yamato laughed a little. "Daydreaming a little bit, Hikari?" he teased. Hikari let out a silly little giggle that she would later be embarrassed to recall.

"Come on, we're going to be late," Taichi called, coming out of their room.

Yamato stood up. "How long does it take to grab a couple jackets?" he asked with the same teasing tone, if not a bit more challenging.

"Shut up, just put it on and let's go."

Taichi threw a jacket to Yamato, which he caught with ease, and the two headed to the door. Hikari watched the back of Yamato's blond head as he left, but as her eyes began drifting downward she suddenly decided that the homework she was supposed to be doing was her first priority, and she busied herself with that.

* * *

Taichi came home later that night, as the rain was pounding against the windowpanes. He stood at the door, took off his jacket, shook out his hair, and then proceeded to flop down on the couch next to where Hikari was watching TV. 

"God, I don't know if I can take much more of this," he said. "He's so good at wriggling away from me just when I think I've got him cornered. But I can't get angry, he's just so…"

"Beautiful," Hikari finished, hardly skipping a beat. She was entranced again, this time by the TV, but she hardly even realized the word had come out her mouth until a moment later, when she clapped her hand on her lips and stared down at her brother.

He stared back.

"Hikari… you don't actually…"

"No!" Hikari immediately replied. "I swear, not even one bit!"

Taichi gasped. "You're lying! You never lie!"

"I'm not lying!" Hikari shot back, even though she was still in shock over her own subconscious wanting to put the moves on her brother's crush without her knowing. "I don't! Really!"

"Hikari," Taichi whined loudly. "He's _mine_, I can't believe you actually think he's hot!"

"Well it's not like you made it hard!" Hikari said, a little angrily. "All that talk about how… attractive he is."

Hikari never, in fact, remembered Taichi using the word "attractive," but she didn't feel his alternatives were appropriate in the situation.

Taichi gasped again. "_You_ were the one who told me it was all okay to talk about my gay-ness with you! You should have warned me if you were going to go and steal my men!"

He had jumped up and was now standing up on the couch, and Hikari jumped up as well, though being at least half a foot shorter than him it didn't make much difference.

"I haven't _stolen_ any men!" she countered. She shrugged and looked away. "It's not my fault I find him…" again, she searched for an alternative to the word "attractive" but could only find those used by Taichi on a daily basis, and she hardly felt like she could even force any of those phrases through her lips.

Taichi stepped off the couch, his shoulders slouching.

"Taichi…" Hikari said, regretting that she had shouted at him at all. "I just find him a little… sexy" – Taichi gave her a strange look – "but that doesn't mean I want to go out with him or anything. He's still all yours."

She attempted a smile, and he sighed.

"You know, I hate it when you do this little sister thing," he said. "You're inheriting mom's guilt tripping abilities."

"Besides, it's totally Yamato's choice who he wants to be with."

"You ruined it."

"Well it's not like you can just talk about him like he's a sure thing!" Hikari said as if to call him back as he stalked into their room and slammed the door. "Hey! That's my room too!"

Hikari regretted a lot of things about the argument at this point, but most of all she regretted using the word "sexy." Burying her face in her hands in embarrassment, she started to think of a way to get Taichi to open the door.

* * *

It was while she was lying awake in bed that Hikari suddenly began to regret giggling so foolishly when Yamato was teasing her, as well as everything she had done afterwards. 

The events played over and over again in her head, but mostly the image that kept coming up was Yamato, sitting across the table with the "biggest turn-on ever" smile plastered across his beautiful face. Taichi was right, he was a sex god.

But Hikari tried and tried to shake those things from her head. She told herself it was just a physical attraction. It's not like she had a chance in the first place, and – wait, did she have a chance? No, that was a silly thought to think. He was older, he was much too attractive to ever like a homely girl like her, and finally, he was gay.

But was he gay?

The question still remained. He managed to recognize and find his way out of Taichi's come-ons, but it didn't freak him out enough to stop hanging out with the brunette. If he was straight, he would probably find the entire situation terribly awkward and do his best to get out of it, but if he was gay… Taichi was good enough, right? Those girls wouldn't have asked him out if he wasn't attractive, right? There was that word again. Hikari couldn't help all of the "alternatives" flashing through her mind.

So which one was it? Was he just very open-minded? Did he like Taichi, but only as a friend? Hikari let out an audible groan and flipped onto her side.

Then she heard her groan mirrored.

"Oh God, Yamato…"

Hikari almost gagged. She was okay with her brother being gay, but the least he could do was keep his dreams to himself. She sat up and threw a pillow up at him.

"Shut up!" she hissed.

Taichi moaned as his dream faded away. "Dammit. So close…"

Hikari rolled her eyes and lay back down in an attempt to go to sleep. Just a physical attraction, she told herself, nothing more. Just a physical attraction…

* * *

The next day was school. School had no other adjectives to go with it; the word itself implied everything it needed to. 

Hikari was dead tired. She had stayed up all night trying to get dirty things out of her mind, and had failed miserably. Fortunately now that she was so tired it was hard to think at all, let alone imagine that smile again.

But, unfortunately, the one person who could've reminded her of all of those thoughts so vividly decided to greet her with a smile on his face so similar it made her shiver.

"Hi Hikari," Takeru said, walking up to her with a bounce in his step. "What's up? You look a little tired."

"Oh, it's nothing," Hikari said. This was the last person she wanted to tell about this. Actually, she didn't want to tell anyone about it. She hated herself for letting it slip to Taichi.

Takeru gave her a reassuring grin as she blinked and then attempted a smile in return. She could tell that he could tell she was lying, but neither of them had any reason to go into it, so they didn't.

"You finish your homework?" he asked, changing the subject.

Hikari answered with a morbid "yes" as she recalled what she had been doing just before finishing her homework. Checking out Yamato's ass. Great.

Takeru looked at her with slight surprise at the tone, but as he was about to ask what was wrong again, someone interrupted.

"Hey guys!"

Daisuke was a wonderful person to hang around with under normal circumstances, but Hikari knew that as they day went by, watching him bounce around like a five-year-old would just make her more tired.

And it did.

By the end of the last class she was falling asleep on her desk, most likely drooling if nothing else. At the bell, all she could do was make a feeble attempt to open her eyes. Daisuke was crouched in front of her, frowning.

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong? You obviously didn't sleep last night, so just tell me," he pleaded. This had gone on all day and was part of the reason her saliva was forming a little pool underneath her cheek.

"It's really nothing you need to be concerned about," Hikari replied, hardly coherent for all the slurring.

"Maybe it's anxiety that's keeping you up, I get a lot of that," Daisuke suggested. Somehow, Hikari doubted it. "Do we have any tests coming up or anything?" he asked Takeru, who was standing on the other side of Hikari.

"Would you study anyway?" Takeru teased. Finally, Hikari found some strength to sit herself up, wiping the corner of her mouth in disgust. She looked down at the desk and discreetly tried to cover the puddle of drool with her books. Takeru smirked, in spite of himself, but said nothing.

"I have to go," Hikari said, standing up at last. "My brother's probably waiting."

The two boys watched her stumble out of the room and then looked down at the desk, where half of her books remained. They looked at each other, and then each took part of the pile to give to her.

After failing to cover her embarrassment in the locker room when Takeru and Daisuke returned her books, Hikari walked out of the school, defeated by the day. She looked up to see her brother waving her down out on the sidewalk.

If this wasn't convenience, Hikari needed to pick up a dictionary to see what it really meant. Taichi's high school was just a block away from hers, so every day he came to pick her up and walk her home. This way, Taichi always had someone to talk to, and Hikari didn't have to worry about perverts on the subway. The whole thing worked out so perfectly.

As Hikari was musing on the perfection of the situation, she noticed something that marred that perfection until it was almost the worst thing ever. This so-called "worst thing ever" was Taichi's blond best friend.

Hikari wanted to curse, but she didn't like to, so she kept it in.

They started walking, nothing out of the ordinary. Taichi and Yamato's conversations were pretty standard, except for Taichi's occasional roundabout come-on. Yamato always got him back on track though, in a rather roundabout way himself. The whole thing would have been amusing had Yamato's smooth voice not been spurring what was just a physical attraction. Yes. Just a physical attraction. Hikari repeated it to herself over and over again.

They got to the subway. It was crowded, as always. When the next train came by, they piled on, Taichi in first, then Hikari and finally Yamato. The seats were filled so Taichi took hold of one of the rings, facing Hikari, while Yamato chose an incredibly unfortunate spot right behind her. Hikari's eyes went wide when she looked up at her brother.

"Dammit," he said.

"What is it?" Yamato asked casually.

"Nothing, just remembered something," Taichi replied, glaring a little at his sister, who they both knew would give anything to be in her position. Yamato lost interest and stared at one of the ads just above him.

When the first stop came, Hikari tensed her whole body to keep from moving too much, but Yamato lost his balance and put a hand on her arm to steady himself. She almost gasped, but did her best to keep it to herself. She looked up at her brother, who was doing _his_ best to ignore it, but was obviously annoyed nonetheless. His pout made her think about his whining, the way he teased her about anything and everything, and she got a little annoyed herself.

So, the next stop came, and Hikari barely bothered to hang on.

"Oops," she said, falling flat against Yamato's chest.

He said, "careful," and looked away again, but Hikari got the satisfaction she wanted from her brother's furious face. She stuck out her tongue and he looked away again, glaring holes into the windows of the train.

It was just a physical attraction, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun with it.


	3. 3: The Harder They Fall

**_Title:_** Sibling Rivalry

Author: Miss Takin

Chapter: 3; The Harder They Fall

Summary: Siblings will always fight, but this rivalry's about to get a little more personal.

A/N: So here's the third chapter! It's my Christmas gift to you! It would be my Hanukkah gift, but that passed a while ago and I just happen to be finished the chapter today. I wasn't going to post it so early, but I feel pretty good about it and I'm into the whole giving spirit. This one's a little shorter, but the content makes up for that, I'm pretty sure. Or at least I hope it does. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't.

* * *

Hikari's conscience was that of a saint. 

Or, at least, she felt as if it was.

Because at the moment she was sitting on the couch, dressed in the biggest and baggiest pajamas she could find, and feeling guilty for every moment that week that she had made some sort of gesture toward Yamato that wasn't just completely ignoring him. Taichi just made her feel guiltier by giving her the silent treatment, which she didn't know he was capable of, so Hikari sat in self-loathing, flicking through channels on the TV.

She knew that she wasn't in love with Yamato. There was no way. She hardly knew him. They had spoken, what, once in the past couple of months? This was a meaningless crush, and she would get over it. At least she hoped she would get over it, and soon.

Hikari hated being at odds with her brother. Most of the time they got along splendidly, but when stuff like this came up, it was hard on both of them.

"HIKARI!"

Hikari screamed as someone jumped on top of her and began tickling her. Ah, so he wasn't all _that_ good at giving the silent treatment.

"Get off! Get off!" Hikari fought back as best she could between giggles and screeches. It wasn't until she kneed him in the stomach that Taichi finally withdrew. Hikari was sore from laughing.

"That is payback!" Taichi stated loudly, pointing down at her.

"For what?" she demanded before she had time to think.

"For hitting on my gay lover!"

Hikari giggled. "Oh yeah? Since when is he your gay lover?" she said with an impish smile.

Taichi put a hand over his heart. "It's only a matter of time before my true love admits his feelings for me," he told her.

Hikari's grin widened and she prepared herself to jump over the back of the couch. "Not if he admits to me first!" she said, and then she leapt, giggling wildly.

Taichi only stood there for a moment before following her, the combination of their small apartment and his long legs letting him catch her easily. He grabbed and put her in a headlock.

"Let me go!" she said, laughing and pushing on his arms in vain.

Taichi shook his head. "Not before you admit that he's _my_ boyfriend. And you have to call me 'The Great Taichi'."

Hikari refused and continued to try and pry herself out, but then she noticed the evil grin on Taichi's face and the fact that the sink was just feet away…

"Okay, okay! He's yours!"

"And…?"

Hikari rolled her eyes. "And you are The Great Taichi."

"Indubitably," Taichi said, letting her go with a smug smile.

Hikari giggled. "Where'd you learn _that_ word? Bet you don't even know what it means."

"A movie, and it doesn't matter what it means. I have to get ready for my soccer game," Taichi told her, as if the two things had anything to do with each other.

"You have a soccer game today?"

"I most certainly do. You can come if you want."

Hikari nodded and went to go get changed. In less than half an hour, they were out the door and on their way to the field.

* * *

Hikari had found a good spot in the stands before many spectators arrived. She watched her brother and his team warm up for a while before anyone from the other team arrived, and then slowly the fans began to show up. 

A particular fan she had been stupid not to expect was walking up the bleachers with one of his friends, who happened to spot Hikari and call her name.

Hikari looked down at the source of the voice to see a familiar redhead waving happily.

"Hi Sora," she called back, and then she noticed him.

Hikari really didn't want this. Well, she had to admit that she wanted it a little, seeing as being around him made her heart do that funny little thing it did, but taking into consideration all of the technicalities, she _really_ didn't want this. Her brother would hate her, her parents probably wouldn't approve, and… for heaven's sake she was the same age _his_ little brother! The age difference alone was reason enough!

Of course, she couldn't just go and tell Yamato that she didn't want him to sit by her (which he was in the process of doing), because then he would ask why, and because Hikari was a horrible liar that would mean spilling out all of the inappropriate thoughts she had been having about him and how she found him ridiculously attractive and – where could she find a different word for that?! The last thing Hikari thought before Yamato and Sora properly sat down was that she would have to look it up in the thesaurus when she got home.

"Hikari, I haven't seen you in a while, how've you been?" Sora asked pleasantly, leaning forward to look at her from the other side of Yamato.

"Great," Hikari said, trying to be absolutely convincing. In actual fact, she had lost more sleep that week than she had any other week, which meant having to shut Taichi up more than once. Usually she slept like a rock.

"School's been okay?"

"Yeah, there hasn't been anything really… troublesome," Hikari replied. She could feel her face burning up as she talked across the blond's chest to who Taichi called "Yamato's attempt at heterosexuality."

Sora and Yamato had gone out for a couple years and had had a pretty stable relationship by the looks of it, but when it came down to it, they just liked it better as friends. At least, that's what everyone assumed when they made their peaceful breakup. Taichi assumed that it was because one of them realized that Yamato was gay. He used to say, "yeah, they were probably making out or something and Yamato said my name instead of hers. I bet that's what happened, but he denies it 'cause he's just not ready for me yet." Hikari always humored him on the subject, but the fact alone that they broke it off so suddenly made her question Yamato's sexuality herself. It could've been the influence of her brother, or it could've been a very good guess, Hikari had yet to find out.

The game was about to begin. A ref was standing in the middle of the field with the game ball and the players were in their final preparations for the task at hand. Taichi had a confidence unmatched by anyone else as he stepped up for the kick-off.

Hikari was on the edge of her seat for more reasons than one.

They started, and immediately Sora was nearly out her seat, cheering for Taichi and his team. Yamato watched the game as a much calmer spectator, and Hikari could barely move as her nerves jumped at everything.

A total of five goals and one minor tantrum on the part of the older Yagami later, it was half time. Their team was up three to two, but too many close calls had happened for Hikari to completely calm her stomach. Not that it was entirely caused by the game.

"Oh, thank God," Sora said as they called for play to stop. "Please excuse me, I've had to go to the washroom since we got here," she said. Hikari registered what her leaving would mean as she was running off into the school to which the field belonged.

Yamato looked down at her and said, "so."

Hikari nodded, keeping her mouth closed lest something embarrassing slipped out.

Yamato looked back down at the field absent-mindedly for a while before looking back at her. "What's going on between you and Taichi?"

"Nothing," Hikari blurted out in a panic. She couldn't believe this, he was going and forcing it out of her now. There was obviously some external force against her in this entire situation. Or was it against her brother?

"Hikari…"

"It's really nothing," Hikari said defensively. She hoped he would back off if she took a stern stance with him, and he did, looking back down at the field. Taichi was juggling one of the practice soccer balls off on his own as his coach talked to him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sora came back and sat down, glancing at each of them a couple times before asking, "is anything wrong?"

Yamato gave her a charming smile, which she now found a little worrying, and told her that everything was fine. Sora sat back and rolled her eyes when he looked away.

In a matter of minutes, the game continued. Hikari could see that her brother shined more in this half than he did the other. He was always more sure of himself as the game progressed, so this was nothing new.

Taichi managed to score two more goals, gaining him a hat trick with just three more minutes on the clock. Hikari couldn't help her legs shaking as the other team slowly caught up, but in the end, it was Taichi's team who brought home the victory. Hikari felt an immense bundle of nerves just dissolve in her chest. The fans began to stand up and leave their seats to either congratulate or console the players, but as Hikari went to stand up, she felt a hand on her arm, and she froze.

She turned to look at him, and then at Sora's retreating figure. The redhead was oblivious to the fact that they weren't following her.

"Hikari, please, tell me what's wrong," Yamato said gently. "I don't want to be that person who's always prying into other people's business, but Taichi's my best friend, and he hasn't been okay lately."

Hikari looked away. "It's nothing," she said with a fake smile.

"Hikari," he said quietly. And that was the moment. It wasn't his smile, and it wasn't his confidence. It was his eyes, warm and sensitive, it was the way his hand held her arm so firmly and yet gently at the same time. Now she wanted to tell him. Now she wanted to grab him and tell him how much she wanted him, but she stopped herself.

"I wish I could tell you, but I can't," she said slowly. They stood there for a moment, and she breathed in as much as she could of his scent, somehow rough and sweet all at the same time. She barely even noticed his eyes flicker for a moment down to her lips…

He closed his eyes sadly and turned away, and he walked down the bleachers to congratulate Taichi. Hikari followed him at a safe distance behind, but she couldn't help but be lost in the possibilities of that situation.

"That was a good game," Yamato said to Taichi as he approached.

Taichi looked up and smiled with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "I had some great inspiration."

Yamato only blinked. "Ah yes, I do remember you telling me that your coach said he'd take the team out to lunch if anyone got a hat trick…"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Is he doing that today?"

"I don't think so…"

"Then maybe we should get going," Yamato said, smiling down at Hikari. He even offered so much as a wink, but Taichi missed this as he packed his cleats into his bag. Sora agreed heartily and as soon as Taichi was ready, they were on their way back to the Yagami apartment for fun and torture.


	4. 4: It's On

_**Title:**__ Sibling Rivalry_

_**Author:**__ Miss Takin_

_**Chapter:** 4; It's On_

_**Summary:**__ Siblings will always fight, but this rivalry's about to get a little more personal._

_**A/N: **So here's chapter 4. I feel like I took such a long time to update... sorry about that, but the first week of school after a long break is always hectic._

_If you feel an irresistable urge to review this chapter (which I know you do!) I'd like to hear some opinions on where you'd like to see the side characters go romantically or even whether or not they should be involved with anyone at all. I've got some ideas already, but it's always nice to get a flash of inspiration from a review once in a while. This chapter will give a clue as to what some of them are doing, but since I didn't really plan this story out first I'm kind of just letting the characters do whatever._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't._

* * *

Hikari was just now discovering that it was extremely hard to get her brother alone. Even when she was at home, he was usually out or had Yamato over, and this was just no good. Hikari needed to talk to her brother face-to-face, and with absolutely no spectators.

She was going to confess. As much as it hurt her to do so, and as much as she knew it would hurt her brother to do so, she was going to tell Taichi that she had simply fallen in love with Yamato. Perhaps telling him would somehow release the feeling, and she would finally feel complete again.

That's what she hoped, anyway.

She kind of doubted that that would actually happen. She almost expected her brother to go into a blind rage and kill her before she could feel any completion at all, but that was an extreme she was not wishing to see.

It took until the next Wednesday to get him alone. Wednesday's tended to be Taichi's slump days, because he had no soccer practice, and it was the only day that Yamato's band could get together for a rehearsal other than the weekend. So Hikari found him sitting on the couch, obviously having decided there was nothing on TV, now staring at the ceiling in an attempt to either take a nap or catch a brilliant idea as it floated by.

"Taichi," Hikari began.

Her brother gave up on his idea-catching/nap-taking, and looked at her. "Yes?"

She sat down, knowing full well that she was about to deliver a huge blow.

"I have something to tell you."

Taichi looked around the room and sat up, his feathers a little ruffled by her serious composure. "And that would be…?"

Hikari took a deep breath. Clear and simple. Don't try and sugarcoat it. "I'm in love with Yamato."

"But Hikari, _I'm_ in love with Yamato," Taichi told her.

Now Hikari was taken off guard. Sometimes, she had begun to think that he never would be able to do this again, but he seemed to remind her of his amazing ability to surprise at very random times in her life. These usually happened when she had comfortably come to expect the opposite.

"Well I didn't ask for this," Hikari defended, sounding like she was overreacting now that her brother was under reacting.

"Neither did I," he said very plainly.

Hikari stammered for something to say, looking around the apartment in shock.

"I guess that makes us pretty equal, wouldn't you say?"

Hikari was caught between nodding and shaking her head. The words were flying over her head and she couldn't look back to check and see what they were.

"So I guess that makes this a competition," Taichi continued. Hikari searched for words, but all she could think of was: …But you're his best friend! …But competitions are what you're good at! …But you're _confusing me_! Any of these seemed perfectly willing to spill out of her mouth at any point, but she couldn't seem to make her lips form anything coherent.

"So, Hikari, I think it's perfectly fair to say: it's on."

He gave her a pleasant smile and got up from the couch. Hikari was left in awe.

* * *

I was almost needless to say that Hikari did not take the "competition" seriously at first. She wasn't one of those that really participated in too many contests, if only because she could find nothing but stress in them. No excitement, no thrill, just stress. Not that she wasn't feeling stress over the whole ordeal already, but Hikari simply pushed off all of those thoughts of "winning" Yamato and tried to concentrate on other things. Yamato would just be a sort of a side-project, perhaps. A side-project that she was in danger of losing completely to her brother. No! No, that was bad thinking. It needed to be avoided, at all costs. But she couldn't just forget about Yamato, and that would mean pursuing him. And that would mean that she would effectively be pursuing him at the same time as her brother and therefore whoever was better would get the prize – him.

Hikari sighed. At least she was getting some sleep now. Not as much as she used to be getting before, but her body had decided that if it was going to keep on obsessing over someone, it might need some energy to do it. So now she could actually pay attention in school, and dodge any questions and concerns that Daisuke and Takeru had about her faltering state of mind. She was getting so good at dodging that they hardly even felt the need to ask anymore.

"So I was thinking that if we could do that, eventually we'd be able to live in space."

Hikari hadn't been listening to the conversation, but she had to hold in her giggles at Takeru's dumbfounded expression. Daisuke was explaining one of his theories, which he had been having a lot of lately. Hikari and Takeru speculated that he was trying to impress someone, but they had yet to discover whom.

"I suppose we could…" Takeru replied, nodding very slowly. Daisuke shrugged and looked away. They were out in the grass under a tree, eating lunch. Hikari was lying down, lost in thought, but Daisuke was sitting and leaning against the tree, while Takeru sat somewhat in between the two.

As her mind drifted in and out of daydreams, she shook her head and thought of a topic that would keep her distracted, at least for the time being. "So are we doing something this weekend, or am I just going to end up sitting on the couch again?"

Takeru sighed. "Miyako called. She said that she's been talking to Iori and they want to get together soon, because I guess she's deprived of our company."

"She called you?" There it was; a suitable distraction. Her best friend was calling someone else now, how did this happen?

Takeru nodded. "She told me she's been trying to call you just to talk but she just can't seem to catch you. I kind of wish she had been able to talk to you; she started going on and on about Ken… it was sort of awkward and I had to make up a lame excuse to hang up."

Hikari pouted and stared at the grass. She had been neglecting her social life a little, but she hadn't even realized it.

"How are those two anyway?" she asked, trying to keep up the distraction. It wasn't working now.

Daisuke smirked. "Things are going very well, according to Ken. He said it's a little weird, because she's in high school now and he's still in junior high, but other than that, things are _perfect_."

"Daisuke's living vicariously through Ken because he can't get a girlfriend of his own," Takeru murmured deliberately to Hikari. She giggled in response.

"Hey, that's not funny!" Daisuke defended. "What does… vi… care… uh-- _that word_ even mean?"

As Hikari and Takeru laughed, she thought to herself that she would have to call Miyako tonight. If for nothing more than further distraction from this secret competition she had gotten herself in.

* * *

Hikari was reading when she looked at her watch and remembered that she needed to make a call before the night was out. Miyako was always busy after school, so Hikari hadn't bothered to pick up the phone right after she had walked in the door.

The brunette put down her book and walked out to the living room, where she found Taichi draped over the couch, his chin resting on the armrest as he lazily talked into the cordless phone.

"Are you baking… a pie? For me?"

"Who are you talking to?" Hikari asked, even though she had a pretty reliable hunch.

Taichi covered the receiver and smiled at her. "Yamato. I'm trying to guess what he's baking."

Hikari rolled her eyes. She still couldn't take this contest seriously, and she doubted that Yamato was that easily swayed anyway. "Well, I need the phone, so if you don't mind wrapping it up…"

"Just a second," Taichi said into the phone, and then he covered the receiver fully with his hand so that no sound would reach the other end. "I'm afraid I'll be on for a little while. Gotta make sure he goes to bed thinking about me."

The competitive glint in his eye was what made Hikari realize that this was more than some stupid sibling game. Of course, it actually was not much more than a stupid sibling game but Hikari saw it as much more in that moment.

"That's not fair," she hissed. "I need the phone. I've been meaning to call Miyako and… well it's just not fair that you hog the phone to talk to him!"

"Use your cell phone," Taichi said with a smirk. He knew he was winning and he liked it. He always liked winning.

Hikari wasn't ready to admit that now Miyako was merely a second thought, that now she just didn't want her brother strengthening his odds. She didn't want to say those things, so instead what she said was, "no. I need that phone," before she jumped on top of him and began wrestling it out of his hands.

This was not a routine thing in the Yagami household. Taichi would have sworn on his life that the last time it had happened, Hikari had been at least twenty pounds lighter. In fact, he swore quite a bit in that moment, but not in the same sense.

Taichi staggered for a while with Hikari on his back, playing keep away with the phone before they both fell to the ground and the object in question went skittering across the kitchen tiles.

Hikari, being the one on top when they had fallen, jumped up and grabbed the phone, sprinting into their room and slamming the door tight. She hesitated before putting it to her ear, but spoke a shy "hello" into the receiver and waited for an answer.

"_Hikari?_"

The younger Yagami almost melted at the sound. His deep voice got better – if that was even possible – over the phone.

"Yes, hello," she said again, smiling contently. The banging on the door behind her went unnoticed.

"_What happened to Taichi?_" Yamato asked with a hint of worry.

"Oh. We're… playing a game. He's not really available right now," she said as persuasively as she could, letting out a stupid giggle.

"_Ah, I see… Any idea when he'll be available again?_"

Hikari pouted. Yamato was, after all, the final judge for this contest, and he would decide the victor regardless of what the siblings did. And right now all he wanted to do was talk to Taichi.

"I don't think it'll be any time soon," Hikari said. "He's really preoccupied."

Taichi had begun yelling obscenities through the door and Hikari did her best to prevent Yamato from hearing them.

"_Oh. Well, I guess…_"

He sounded as if he was getting ready to hang up and she panicked. In a fit of nerves, she blurted out, "so what are you baking?"

"_What?_"

"Taichi said you were baking something," Hikari said, finding herself slowly falling back to earth. She doubted she would ever truly touch the ground, but at least her thoughts were a little more coherent now.

"_Oh yeah… well I just stuck some cornbread in the oven,_" he replied in a bit of an offbeat tone. Hikari wondered why he was so uncomfortable, when she realized that Yamato had just gone from playfully dodging Taichi's flirting to chatting with Taichi's innocent little sister in the span of a minute. He barely had an inkling as to how not-innocent she was feeling at that moment.

Hikari giggled again in response. "So I guess it's not a pie for Taichi," she said loosely, finding her own voice at last.

There was a laugh on the other end, and Hikari felt her heart squirm. "_It never is, but he always manages to have some of whatever I've made anyway._"

Hikari flopped down on her bed, lost in a world of Yamato's extremely sexy phone-voice and her own stomach doing back-flips in response. Her mind did its best to push out the yelling on the other side of the door, which now was being sprinkled with "Taichi's favorite word" as Hikari referred to it. That one profanity she didn't dare mutter even in her thoughts, let alone let it slip out of her mouth.

"Well Taichi likes everything, but you must be really good if he goes that crazy over the food you make," she said.

"_Well it's either that or he's just looking for another excuse…_"

"To what?"

Yamato laughed softly again, if not a bit nervously. "_It's nothing Hikari. Forget it._"

He said her name. She melted into that voice and could barely take another breath to continue their small talk.

"Well I think I might like to try some of that cornbread, if I can," she said. She could feel the conversation wrapping up quickly, but she felt satisfied enough that it didn't bother her.

"_Sure. I'll send some extra home with Taichi the next time he visits, and we'll just pray he doesn't eat it all on the way home_."

Hikari laughed; surprised that it wasn't her stupid giggle escaping her lips but a much more natural sound. "Better send lots in that case."

The sound of an outside door slamming open brought her back to reality, and she heard her mother's surprised shout of "what is going on in here?" No doubt she had heard Taichi and some punishment was on its way.

"My parents are home… I have to go now," Hikari said.

"_Okay. I'll see you later then…_" he sounded as if he wanted to say something else, but Hikari prayed that he wasn't going to ask her to get Taichi to call him later. He conceded. "_Bye._"

"Bye," she said, and then she hung up. For a moment, she sat there and held on to the memory of his voice, but then she decided that seeing what was going on outside her room would probably be too amusing to miss. She would call Miyako after the show was over.


	5. 5: Seeking Advice

_**Title:**__ Sibling Rivalry_

_**Author:**__ Miss Takin_

_**Chapter:** 5; Seeking Advice_

_**Summary:**__ Siblings will always fight, but this rivalry's about to get a little more personal._

_**A/N: **I'M SO SORRY! I literally _just_ got my computer hooked up today, and I had all the files saved to it and I just wish I could've done it sooner but... life is hard. Anyway, I hope you like Miyako and Sora and will forgive me after you read this chapter, which I wrote all in one day and is relatively short but that can't be helped. :(_

_...I am really sorry._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Toei owns Digimon and all related names, characters, items and locations. I don't._

* * *

Letting out a long, almost sensual sigh, Miyako stretched out on Hikari's bed. 

"I guess things are going pretty well – y'know, he's a pretty good kisser."

"But other than that?" Hikari asked. She knew from experience that the "physical" part of the relationship was only half of it for Miyako. She was the type of girl that was in it for the long haul, and she always used to talk about how much personality mattered to her.

"Well he's pretty much perfect at being himself. He gets this look on his face whenever he's embarrassed – it's just so adorable."

Hikari giggled a little. "So we've established that Ken is the dream boyfriend," she said, shifting her legs from where she sat leaning up against the bedpost.

Miyako smiled and moved onto her back so that she was looking at the decorated bottom of the top bunk. Hikari had placed numerous photos up there for her to stare at as she went to sleep. In the top left corner was a picture of her and Taichi with Yamato and Takeru – even as an 11-year-old Yamato had been able to pull of that smirk of his that on his eighteen-year-old face made her want to jump him.

"Well, there is _one_ thing…"

Hikari looked up at her friend. "Which is?"

"When we're kissing… he really doesn't do anything… _interesting_ with his hands."

"Ah," Hikari replied, fighting off the urge to imagine Yamato doing some interesting things with _his_ hands. She bit her lip and blushed.

"I think it's just 'cause he's shy, because occasionally he does this little shaky thing where I _think_ he's going to move them, but then he just puts 'em back right where they were."

It was too late for Hikari. She had to concentrate so hard on blocking out her little personal dreamland that she was barely listening to her friend.

"Hikari… earth to Hikari…"

"Uh huh?" Hikari blurted out, turning to look up at Miyako with a furious red tinge on her cheeks.

Miyako giggled. "Got something on your mind? Perhaps a crush you're not telling me about?" she asked slyly.

"No, it's nothing like that!" Hikari insisted.

"Let's see… what guys do you know? It _can't_ be Daisuke – no offense or anything, but… Takeru maybe?"

Oh, how painfully close she was. "It's neither of them," Hikari said, looking Miyako in the eye to make sure she got the message.

Miyako's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Hmm, then who is it? Iori's still a little young – I mean if you do have a crush on him I guess that's okay but I don't know what to tell you."

"It's not Iori," Hikari said.

"Koushiro maybe? I had a crush on him a year or so ago – he's kinda cute in a geeky sort of way…"

Hikari sighed. "Maybe it's not a Chosen," she said. It wasn't _really_ a lie, but it gave her a bit of a knot in her stomach nonetheless.

"Hikari, how many guys do you know well that aren't Chosen?"

Her lie destroyed, Hikari had to admit that she really didn't talk to that many guys who weren't Chosen Children. She had a few other female friends at school mainly out of necessity, but other than that she was comfortable just hanging out with Daisuke, Takeru and the rest of the Chosen. Hikari sighed in defeat.

"So who's left. You never said yes or no to Koushiro, it can't be Ken" – Hikari briefly thanked all that was Holy that it wasn't Ken – "so that leaves Jyou… and Yamato. Unless you're a lesbian and it's me, in which case I understand perfectly but unfortunately I'm in a relationship at the moment…"

"Miyako…"

"Okay, so not a lesbian."

Hikari rolled her eyes.

"Jyou or Yamato… hmmm, since I'm pretty sure Yamato's gay and everything, I guess it must be Jyou, which is alright. I mean, he's a university guy and everything, and actually he's gotten pretty hot since he was in high school…"

Miyako was nodding her head, obviously processing this new concept of Jyou's dare-she-think-the-word attractive qualities along with Hikari's supposed crush on the 19-year-old man.

"Miyako," Hikari said, fearing what she was about to say.

"Yes?"

"It's not Jyou."

Miyako was kneeling on Hikari's bed so quickly that the brunette barely had time to register the fact that her friend had moved.

"But that means…"

"Well… yeah," Hikari confirmed.

"But Hikari, _Taichi_ likes Yamato."

"Miyako, if you continue to sound exactly like my brother, I'm throwing you out," Hikari said dryly.

"Sorry, it's just a bit weird…" Miyako said, stopping to think for a moment. "Hey, you know who you should talk to? Sora!"

"Really?" Hikari asked, surprised that she had not thought of this herself.

"Yeah, she was with Yamato before, and she knows all about this stuff. I've talked to her tons of times about Ken before."

"Oh," Hikari said, thinking about it for a moment and then coming to the conclusion that talking to Sora would indeed be a very good idea.

* * *

Her chat with Miyako left Hikari extremely eager to call up Sora, so much that she thought about talking to the redhead almost more than she thought about doing _anything_ with Yamato, and before she had thought about things like that almost 24/7. 

She sat in an anxious daze in school, often finding herself nervously tapping her pen on her desk – which always ended with Takeru grabbing the offending item and giving her an ice cold attempt at a smile while Daisuke giggled in the background. At the end of the day, she managed to rip herself away from Taichi and Yamato, both of whom were headed back to the Yagami apartment, and find her way to Sora's tennis practice. Having to take the train without the protection of the older boys left her feeling a little vulnerable, but Hikari kept her mind on what she would be saying to the older Chosen once they had a chance to speak.

Hikari arrived at the tennis courts a little later than she had expected, and she could see that Sora was just finishing her practice. The older girl was entirely focused on the game, and didn't notice as the Chosen of Light stopped to stand outside the fence surrounding the court. Hikari watched in admiration as Sora put so much power into her swing that the ball whipped past her opponent, who could only make sure to be well out of the way. Sora let out a sigh and called an apology over to the other girl, but soon they were back into the game and she was swinging just as hard again.

When Sora finally finished, picking up her water bottle and running a tired hand through her short hair, she noticed the brunette and sent over a curious smile before walking over to speak through the fence.

"Hi Sora," Hikari said. "I was wondering if we could talk."

* * *

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?" 

Despite Hikari's meek protests, the pair had made their way back to Sora's apartment, and just now the redhead was setting down a cup of tea in front of the younger Chosen and falling easily into big sister mode.

"It's a bit hard to talk about…" Hikari said.

"Take your time, it's okay," Sora said sweetly, taking a sip from her own teacup. She smiled warmly at Hikari.

"It's guy troubles," she admitted shakily, avoiding Sora's gaze. Something in those eyes made her want to spill everything.

There were so many ways to start this conversation, but Hikari couldn't pick any one of them that she actually wanted to use. As she kept thinking, the possibilities kept building and building, until finally she blurted out:

"Why did you and Yamato break up?"

Sora made a small "oh" sound and glanced away.

"I'm sorry – I shouldn't have asked a question so personal. I suppose I should maybe just go home…"

"No, that's all right Hikari," Sora said, her voice stopping the brunette from standing up. "It's just that, well, Yamato and I came to an understanding, and it is quite a personal matter, for both of us."

Hikari took a deep breath. "Is he gay?" she asked quietly, almost not wanting to ask, fearing the affirmative.

Sora's smile twitched in amusement. "Even if I knew, I don't think I could tell you. That boy – he has too many secrets much more trivial than that, and if he had bothered to tell me he would have made me swear to secrecy in his own way."

Hikari nodded in understanding. Yamato did seem to be the secretive type, but she at least thought that he was comfortable enough in his relationship with Sora to be a little more open with her.

"Hikari, are you –"

"No," Hikari said, her eyes averting Sora's gazes of their own accord. The lie brought back that knot in her stomach, and she could tell by the way Sora tilted her head and twitched her smile again that the redhead could see right through it.

"You can tell me, you know. We've known each other for ages, and I'm a good secret-keeper."

Hikari smiled at her, but it was that smile that said nothing more than "I can't. I'm sorry."

Sora understood, and she looked down at her tea. "Well, you know what I think? I think the three of us Chosen girls should get together and go shopping one of these days. My closet certainly needs something other than my school and tennis uniforms in there…"

"Miyako would love that," Hikari said.

"Good, then let's start planning."

* * *

Though it wasn't quite the talk she was hoping to have, Hikari felt rejuvenated by Sora's excited planning of their girls' day out, and she had a smile on her face as she walked through the door. The apartment was dark – Hikari could see a thin stream of light from their father's office, where he was quietly talking on the phone, but in front of the TV Hikari could make out the distinctive hairstyles of the Chosen Children of Courage and Friendship. 

"Taichi, if that happens one more time…"

"What? My arms slipped off the back of the couch…"

"That's it. Move over there."

"But _Yamato_…"

Every so often, Taichi managed to flirt his way onto the irritable side of Yamato. These were the moments that Hikari was almost sure that the blond was straight, but she had never found so much joy in them as she did now.

"What are you guys watching?" Hikari asked, watching in masked triumph as Yamato shifted away from Taichi.

"Spirited Away," Yamato replied.

"Yamato insisted on it," Taichi added. "I think the witch is creepy," he whispered behind Yamato's head.

"She's _supposed_ to be," Yamato said, turning to Taichi and wincing a little at how close their faces were together. Taichi gave him a wide smile.

"I love this movie!" Hikari said, hopping into the space between Yamato and the end of the couch, which at the fault of Taichi was just enough for her to squeeze comfortably in beside him. She was a slightly upset by his lack of reaction, but Taichi almost made up for it with his glare and she turned her attention to the movie, which of course was interrupted almost immediately by the phone ringing.

"Hikari, get the phone," Taichi said sourly.

"It's probably for you," Hikari shot back.

"Why would it be for me when the person that calls me the most is sitting right here?" he asked, trying as hard as he could not to smile.

Hikari was about to reply when her father called from his office, "Hikari, phone's for you!"

"Thanks Dad," she called back, sighing in defeat as she got up.

"Hikari, it's one of those boys again… you just let me know if you're having any trouble with them and you know your old man will take care of it…"

"No thanks Dad," Hikari said before picking up the cordless in the living room. "Hello?"

"_Hikari! Guess what_!"

Hikari smiled. It was Daisuke. "What?" she asked.

"_Me and Takeru actually got on the ball this time_!"

"Oh yeah?" she said, a bit curious, but more amused by Daisuke's enthusiasm.

"_We called around, and we're all thinking about getting together this Saturday at my apartment to watch movies and stuff. I called you tonight 'cause… well I know I'll forget in the morning at school. You know me_."

Hikari grinned. "Sounds good. I'll be there."

"_Great. See you tomorrow!_"

"Bye."

Hikari put down the phone and smiled to herself before returning to the couch.

"Who was that?" Taichi asked as his little sister squeezed back into the space between Yamato and the arm of the couch.

"Daisuke. We're getting together this weekend to watch movies."

"You and Daisuke?" Yamato asked, appearing mildly shocked; which, for Yamato, was more than he usually would have shown.

"Oh, no, all of us younger kids," Hikari quickly said. "Not… me and Daisuke…"

Yamato said "oh," and looked back at the television, but Hikari couldn't help but wonder why he had been so surprised. Maybe it was nothing, she told herself, but maybe…

Breaking the streak she had been having, Hikari did not sleep well that night.


End file.
